


Knuxouge Stories

by startrek22



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Which I intend to have occur in sequential order, but who knows?, various short stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27901978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrek22/pseuds/startrek22
Summary: A collection of Knuxouge stories (that form a little narrative, overall).
Relationships: Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Fallen Angel

It had crystallized into a routine. Swoop down to Angel Island, find the Emerald (usually in the same exact spot), get past the knucklehead guarding it, and get away with the prize. Then, lose it, rinse, and repeat. Of course, there was the occasional variation; sometimes, it’d be a holiday, or a nice change of weather. Her conversations with the guardian were brief upon their first introduction, but had gradually creeped to longer lengths. This had been going on for so long, it had become casual. It was a an everyday thing, a cat-and-mouse chase. 

Or, maybe, echidna-and-bat.

The weather was looking a little nasty, but she’d been through worse. She’d get past red-fur, nab the gem, and take off to the east. Gliding in to the ruined altar, Rouge snuck up around the back, scaling up the mossy stone walls. As usual, there was Knuckles, sleeping on the job. She’d tease him a little.

Securing the Emerald to a secure net of ropes, the bat leaned over the napping soldier.

“Hey, Knuckie.. you shouldn’t be sleeping outside in weather like this. You’ll get a cold.”  
  
His eyes slowly drifted open. By that point, she was off in the air, cruising through the drizzling rain. Knuckles shouted and waved his fists, chasing her down on the ground - to which she responded by sailing higher. And higher, and higher, and higher...

It was smooth sailing, from this point out. Just head back to base, and take a break. Another day’s work-

  
For just a split second, everything went white.

He was dreaming about being in the city. He was licking up a popsicle, relaxing on the side of the street. The weird thing was.. Rouge was there with him, chatting and talking about what they wanted to do next. Of all people, what was that big-eared thief doing in HIS dreams? She seemed to lean over to him, looking into his eyes like she was saying something important.

“Hey, Knuckie...”

For some reason, his cheeks got hot. Must have been the humidity.

  
“You shouldn’t be sleeping outside in weather like this.... You’ll get a cold.”

Everything seemed to slow down, and fade out into black. He peeled his eyelids open...

And that rat was taking off _ with the Master Emerald! AGAIN! _

Leaping to his feet, Knuckles chased off after the flying figure, yelling incoherently. He was still only half-awake, but he was shifting into ‘Hunt mode’. She just kept going up, and up, and up..

Great. Now, he was going to have to chase her down, find the Emerald.. So much for doing that gardening along the-

A blinding flash of light stunned Knuckles, followed by a crash of thunder. When he looked back up, Rouge was...

Smoking. Literally. She was covered in small flames, frozen up like a board, and was dropping like an anvil towards the jungle floor.  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
When Rouge came to, the pain splintering across her back was taking up most of her mind. Once she came to terms with it, she noticed the old shawl that had been draped over her, the thick leaves supporting her head. The bat could feel bandages stuck to her, as well; a clay cup was placed next to her head, filled with some sort of cloudy green liquid.  
  
A kind of cone-shaped tent had been set up, a wooden skeleton with leaf walls and a holeto let smoke out. She wanted to get up, but the skin and muscles on her backside ached so much, it was painful just to look around. So, she laid her head back down, listening to the heavy rainfall.  
  


A couple of minutes later, Knuckles came back, carrying bandages and a variety of island produce. She rolled her head over, squinting a little at the figure in the entryway. “Well.... this is a nice place you’ve got.”

“Just set it up.” Rock-faced, he piled up the things he’d gathered in a dry corner, then kneeled down beside her. “Roll over?”

“My, you’re moving fast..” She shifted over, exposing her back. “How do my wings look?”

“As good as they could look, after a lightning strike.” He started to take off her old bandages.  
  
”Well, coming from you, that’s a compliment.”  
  
“.. Your heartbeat kept coming in and out. For a second.. it looked like you weren’t going to make it.”  
  
”Aw.. worried about little old me?”  
  
  


“As if. When you see someone get injured, you help them. It’s common courtesy.”

“So, you always give out herbal tea and leaf pillows?”

“It’s pain relief. How does that feel, anyways?”

“Like all my fur was waxed off.. and the skin, too.”

“That’s an accurate description. Most of it should be coming from the medicine I rubbed on it.”

“ _Ooh,_ you gave me a  back massage?”

“Antibiotics. Second and third-degree burns this big leave a lot of room for infection.” He looked over the affected areas, checking for any excess residue.

“I wonder if it’s scented.”

“You’re not taking this very seriously, are you?”  
  
“I’ve been through a lot. I’ll be up and out of here soon.”

“Not with your wing, you won’t.”  


Rouge paused. “.. What’s wrong with my wing?”

Knuckles took two shards of a mirror, salvaged from some sort of abandoned building, and positioned them so that Rouge could see her back. ”You sprained your back muscles in your crash landing.”

The fur was burned entirely off of her back, covered in red blisters that were in the process of being covered up. A red scar spread out downwards, like the roots of a tree. Her wings were flattened up, with similar scars running down them, making the pattern of smeared raindrops.  
  
  
  
“That’s going to take at least a week to recover. Hope you didn’t have any plans.”  
  
“.... No... no, I didn’t.” She really did - there was all sorts of shopping and high life to be enjoyed, and, possibly, some work for the Resistance.  
  
  
  
If there was any important news from the Resistance, he would get it on his comms. So what if he was helping her out? He’d help anyone out. With her, it was no different. 

... Yep. No different.  Everyone made him freeze up when they walked in the room. Everyone made him a little dizzy. Everyone teased him like this.  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  


The week went by surprisingly fast; days of sheltering inside the teepee, listening to the rain and exhanging their usual banter. Soon, the agent was near the day she could get off the massive rock. As the night sky grew higher, she sat facing a campfire, her host crossing his arms as he faced away. 

“Well, you’ve certainly given me the five-star treatment! All I need now is a mint on my pillow..”

“Don’t get too comfortable. Soon as you’re up and at it, you can fly off to your own place.”

“What, you don’t like having guests over? Must be lonely..”

“I’m fine by myself. Plus, I’d blink, and you’d be buzzing away with the Emerald, again.”

The bat, absent-mindedly, drummed her fingers on her cheek. “I’m not here for  that.”  
  
  


The guardian turned around, facing the agent. “... What do you mean?”

  
“ I-“ 

  
She stared at him, blankly. . “.. How dense are you?”  


“Smart enough to keep up with you.”  
  
Then, why do you think I keep coming back?”

“To take  _ MY  _ emerald!”

“No!” She was flustered now, her ears folding flat.  “Not for  _ years! _ How could this not get through your thick skull!?”  
  
“Well, what _are_ you here for!?”

_ “YOU!” _

She’d otten exasperated, totally caught up, and now she was in it. The energy of her momentary outburst was replaced with a deep sinking feeling.

“I’m..” 

_ Oh, God. _ She buried her hands into her face, and looked away.

Everything was silent, for a couple moments. The echidna kept looking, then turned to the fire. Rouge spoke, just under her breath.

“.. I’m here for you.”

Knuckles had no idea what was going on.

She looked off into the fire, pursing her lips. She couldn’t meet his gaze. 

“You.. you’re always here to talk to. Even when no one else in the world’s available, or willing, you’re always here. You keep that permanent ‘tough-guy’ look on, always puffing out your chest, as you ignore things right in front of you. You wear your heart on your sleeve about everything. You’re kind, kinder than anyone should be - even when you say you don’t care, you’ll still go out of your way for others. Humming little rap songs to yourself, as you walk along. Getting all flustered when I joke about you.. about us. No matter who you’re dealing with, you always give them the benefit of the doubt - even when it blows up in your face.”

She looked away. “And, I could be having the worst day of my life, but I know know that I can still swoop down here, and see your face.. and that I’ll be able to talk to you.”  
  
”I love that. That sense of having a place to be, someone to be with. I..”

“... I love you.”

Knuckles sat there, absolutely still, looking off into the starry horizon and slowly breathing in. _Was that..?_

.. That was  it . That was the weird, sick feeling he had. Liking things about someone, even the little weird details. Getting a weird knot in your stomach every time you see them.

Closing his eyes, he rested his hands in his lap.  “I...”

That feeling of  security . Knowing they’re going to show up; all their quirks. Them even liking the same things about  you.

  
“... I feel the same way.”

The bat’s eyes widened, as she turned towards him. Slowly, the echidna made his way over, sitting down next to his rival. He weighed each word carefully. 

“I.. like your little ‘perfumed’ scent. How you always put on extra every time you come here, to block out the smell of the jungle, ‘cause you care too much about your appearance. You’re always being snarky about everything, to cover up your real thoughts. You act like you cover your tracks, but you make it obvious when you want to help. And, you always want to help. And..your smile. The way your fangs poke out when you grin, and your laugh. How your laugh keeps rising and rising, until you can barely hear it. And..” He chuckled. “You sneeze like a rabbit. You’re always ready for action, throwing yourself in the fray for others, even when it’s life-or-death. And, when I... when I get lonely, I know that you’ll show up and crack some jokes, and I’ll go chasing after you for a thousand miles. And then, you’ll come back, and I’ll see your smile, and your laugh, again. I love knowing that.”  


_ Love. _ The word had a lot of weight to it.

  
”.. I love you.”

The silence that followed felt like hours slipping by, without any notice. Insects and frogs chirped in the tall grass; trees rustled in the wind. It was just them, and their eyes glowing from the fire. 

Green and purple, like shining gemstones. That was all they needed.

Rouge broke the silence.

“Well...” The bat near-whispered, drawing her legs up towards her body. “I guess that makes two of us.” Cracking a half-smile, she rested her hand on top of the echidnas’.

They seemed to slowly drift closer together, gliding on air. “Yeah..” he replied. “Guess it does.”  
  
  
  
  
They moved closer, and closer, until their lips gently impressed. 

  
  
  
  


This was it. This was  that feeling. Even on the rainiest days, the coldest nights, they wouldn’t be alone. There was someone watching their back - someone who liked their corny jokes, or their little raps, even if those drove off everyone else. Who would be there for them, to talk to, to laugh with, to be near.

  
  


_ Love. _


	2. Fixing a Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Tails get called on by a friend.

Though they hadn’t quite hit it off at first, Knuckles was one of the toughest, most reliable guys Sonic knew. Any odd job that needed doing on Angel Island, he could be counted in for. So, when the echidna called on him and Tails for a ‘special project’, they picked it up and set out to Angel Island. 

Walking into the clearing in the island’s middle, right near the altar that held the Master Emerald, they found Knuckles hard at work on...

An entire house’s worth of building materials. Everything you’d need to make a large home, down to a solar/wind generator, a full ‘Do-It-Yourself Concrete Foundation Kit’, and some kind of communications receiver.

“Jeez, Knuckles.. I thought you were more of an outdoors guy. What are you making a whole house, for?”

Knuckles’ head shot up, on hearing their voice. “Oh, hey! Well, you know.. guests, and stuff. Figure since you guys come around so often, I should make a more comfortable place to sleep. It’s either this, the jungle, or the Carnival Zone, y’know?”

The hedgehog nodded.“Okay! Tails, can you get on the electrical generator?”  
  
”Sure thing!” With a peace sign, the fox headed off to work. Stuff like this was elementary. Meanwhile, the red and blue two started setting off on the frame.

“So, Knuckles... where’d you get all the supplies for this kinda thing?”

“Oh, I got it all in a catalog.”

Sonic raised an eyebrow, as he speedily drove nails and screws into wood. “You get mail here?”

“Oh, yeah! When Ro-“ His voice shifted like a dodgy car making a U-turn. “ _-_ _ oooodney_, the...  _mailman_ , brings them.. here.”

“Mhm. And what’s Rodney like?”

The echidna carried several large beams, which he stacked up. “Oh, you know. He does.. mailman-like things.”

“Yup. Is he friendly?”  
  
“Oh, very! He’s always cracking jokes, and he’s got a great smile. Flies in here every week to talk, and...”

  
He blinked slowly. ”Give me my mail.” 

“Uh-huh. And, what does he look like?”

“He’s got white hair, and his eyes are kind of teal-green, like.. like big gemstones. They sparkle in the light, and...”

The hammering had slowed to a stop. Sonic was looking at him, smirking.

“He’s also got big ears.”

The hammering continued. “How big?”

“Oh,  real  big. He hears everything. At least, he did. I think he’s got some hearing damage after the- ... accident.”

“Jeez, what kind of accident?”  
  
Knuckles grabbed an entire section of wall, carrying it on his back. “Uh, he fell out of bed.”

“He got hearing damage from falling out of bed?”

“His bed’s very high up!”

“Well, that sounds kinda dangerous.”

“Oh, he’s  _ always _ doing dangerous things. ...Makes me kinda worried, actually.”  
  
“Yeah. Postal work can be life-threatening. Who knows what’s in some of those packages?”  


In a matter of a couple of days, the first non-Egg building to be built on Angel Island in some 4,000 years was completed. It was, more-or-less, a perfectly average house, with all the standard trappings that would imply - with some extra bedrooms. In a handful of weeks, it was kitted out. Full bathroom, decked-out kitchen - there was even a TV and an internet connection! Proud of their work, the three stood out front.  
  
”Well, you’ve finally got an actual roof over your head. Tell me, Knux - what finally won you over?”

“Well...” Knuckles rubbed the back of his head. “There was a nasty storm that came through, about a month and a half ago. I figured it’s better to stay inside - I might catch a cold, sitting out in the rain like that. Plus, like I said, I’m hoping to have more people over, for longer times.”

“Like the mailman?”

Knuckles turned red - even redder than he already was. “Wh- why would I have Rodney over? We’re just.. buddies.”

Tails looked up into the air behind them, raising a hand above his eyes. “Oh, look. Here comes Rodney now.”

Knuckles tensed up. With a soft pat on the ground, Rouge landed, slowly walking over. 

“You  _ didn’t_ _._ ”

He turned around on one foot. “Heeey! ... Got that  _ thing _ done, that I was talking about...”

She grinned and walked right up to him, putting an arm around him and smacking her lips right on his. The echidna’s eyes nearly rolled over in his head, as a dopey smile crept up on his face.


End file.
